Intorduced in 1950 as Guzzi’s flagship model, the Falcone was a popular purchase for Italian military and police. That was one of three variants Moto Guzzi offered – the others were the Turismo and the Sport. The Sports are often cloned by “restorers” who start with Turismo or Policia models, but this offering proudly displays its civil service beginnings (despite …
2001 Honda FTR223
Nowadays, the “FTR” model is heavily associated with Indian and the FTR1200. But Honda beat them to the punch with a motorcycle that was never officially sold in the US, their own Flat Track Racing inspired FTR223! Here’s one that’s made it to the US and is currently titled in Texas.
1972 IZH Jupiter 3
IZH, also known as Izhevsk Machinebuilding Plant, has been making motorcycles since 1928. But that’s not why you know them. You know them as the manufacturer of the ubiquitous Kalashnikov AK-47 assault rifle.
1966 Motobi Imperiale
After some disagreements with his family, Giuseppe Benelli created Moto ‘B’ Pesaro in 1949. He soon changed the name to Motobi, and the company quickly became known for small bikes with competition pedigree as well as the distinctive “Power Egg” motor.
2007 BMW R1200R
For the 2007 model year, BMW updated the R1150R with a significant improvement in the R1200R. The new motor featured four valves per cylinder and (obviously) a displacement bump to 1,170cc. That increased power to 109, but BMW claimed that the new bike saved 44 pounds over its predecessor – resulting in a 40% increase in power-to-weight!
1951 Norton ES2
Post Sale Update: This ES2 sold for $10,200 after 24 bids on eBay in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The ES2 was introduced in 1927 and was originally sold as a sports bike, though by the time production stopped in 1964, it wasn’t particularly competitive in the world of fast motorcycles. Still, an almost 40 year long production run is damned impressive, and …
Guest First Ride Review – 2021 Moto Guzzi V7
View Post1978 Suzuki GS1000
Considered by some to be the best 1000cc four-cylinder of its time, the GS1000 was based on the 750 but had many improvements – Cycle magazine called this bike the “best handling multi of all.”
1990 Suzuki VX800
The Suzuki VX800 is an interesting cult bike that was discontinued in the US after 3 years after disappointing sales, though the European market saw production run from 1990-1997. A classic looking naked bike, it had comfortable steering geometry and a torquey engine that helped make this bike a fantastic all-arounder, despite its 500+ pound curb weight.
2004 BMW R1150R Rockster Edition 80
The BMW Rockster was an interesting variant on their naked bike of the time, the R1150R. The Rockster was BMW’s take on a streetfighter of sorts, made by pulling together the headlight from a R1150GS, gauges from the R1100S, and throwing them onto the R1150R with a distinctive paint job. In 2004, BMW introduced the dual-spark version of the oilhead …
Guest First Ride Review – 2021 Royal Enfield Meteor 350
View PostIn Belgium – 1996 Aprilia Moto 6.5
I’m all hopped-up on an Aprilia 660 at the moment, but here’s an Aprilia 650 from three decades ago that was quite a bit more polarizing thanks to a distinctive shape from French product designer and motorcycle enthusiast Phillipe Starck. In the mid 90’s, he combined those two facets to design the Aprilia Moto 6.5, an in-town runabout that oozes …
1982 Kawasaki KZ750
The Kawasaki KZ750 didn’t get much attention from the world – it was basically a bigger KZ650 that didn’t have many other revisions. Check out this link for a retrospective on the KZ from Clement Salvadori at Rider.
In Germany – 1976 Suzuki GT750 Patroller
Here’s one of the coolest bikes we’ve had the chance to feature over on Iconic Motorbike Auctions – an ex-Australian Police Suzuki Water Buffalo! Suzuki offered police versions of both the GT500 and the GT750 – the latter was built sold between 1972 and 1976 mostly in Asia and Africa, though a few made their way to Europe and Australia …
1957 Zundapp Super Sabre
Powered by a 250cc two stroke, the Super Sabre was the top of the line Zundapp at the time.